GOP Battles 'War on Women' With Army of Female Volunteers

The GOP has recruited an army of female volunteers as it heads out to the political battlefields to confront the "war on women" bombardment from Democrats.

As Democrats launch an offensive for equal pay for women in their midterm strategy, Republicans are planning to fight back by amassing their troop of young women to woo female voters in counties that turned blue in the 2012 elections, according to The Washington Post.

In previous elections, Democrats have successfully portrayed the GOP as staging a "war on women" for its efforts to regulate abortion and because of a series of insensitive remarks by Republican lawmakers. But the GOP plans to turn things around in 2014 election, according to the Post.

The first salvo was fired this week in West Virginia by Sharon Day, co-chairman of the Republican National Committee, with the "14 in '14," a program targeting younger women in suburban areas that have tipped to the left.

The Post reported that female volunteers will sign up for 30 minutes per week in the 14 weeks before the election to recruit other women, identify voters, and get people to the polls.

Day launched the volunteer initiative in Charleston, W.Va., with West Virginia Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, who is running for the Senate seat of retiring Democrat John D. Rockefeller IV.

"We’re not going to win elections if we’re not reaching out to the 21-to-40-year-old groups of women, and we understand that, and we’re willing to earn that," Day said. "We’re willing to start the discussion. We want to be there and invite them to be part of the solution, part of the process."

In the first round of the "14 in '14" program, the targeted states with newly blue counties include Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The controversial expression "war on women" has been used by Democrats to describe GOP policies on restricting women’s rights, especially their reproductive rights.

Powerful Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, along with feminists, have accused the GOP of trying to force their social views on women through legislation.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee criticized the expression earlier this year, saying that "our party stands for the recognition of the equality of women and the capacity of women." He added, "That's not a war on them; it's a war for them."